KOTRA to Host 'K-Lifestyle in New York' Through Year-End

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] KOTRA announced on the 25th that it will hold the ‘K-Lifestyle in New York’ event in New York, USA, until the end of the year to increase exports of Korean consumer goods. KOTRA, together with the Korea Cosmetic Industry Institute, started this project on the 8th in line with the resumption of local economic activities in New York.

Due to the cancellation of exhibitions and consultation meetings in the US caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), opportunities for our small and medium-sized enterprises to promote their products offline have decreased. Online transactions, which replace face-to-face consumer interactions, have significantly increased in the US as well. In particular, New York is leading changes in consumer trends in the US and worldwide.

KOTRA has greatly revised its existing business methods to adapt to the rapidly changing local environment. First, it began developing an ‘online hub’ reflecting the latest trends in New York. Based on a premium strategy, it carefully selected Korean products to enhance brand value. A K-consumer goods website equipped with its own shopping mall sales function was created.

Along with this, KOTRA reorganized the offline event venue to be suitable for online promotion and sales. The showroom set up in Chelsea, Manhattan, serves as both a local consumer experience space and an online broadcasting studio. The product warehouse has transformed beyond simple storage to a logistics space responsible for online sales management, packaging, and delivery.

KOTRA is cooperating with the local mobile commerce platform ‘ShopShops’ to conduct six live streaming sales broadcasts targeting viewers in the US and China. Through frequent video consultations, 120 online business discussions involving 48 of our small and medium-sized enterprises are planned.

Lee Ji-hyung, head of KOTRA’s North America regional office, said, “New York is gradually recovering from COVID-19, so now is an opportunity to establish a foothold in the local market,” and added, “We will continue to actively support the online entry of K-consumer goods into the huge US consumer market.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.